Creating and maintaining electronic gift lists

ABSTRACT

A system for maintaining gift lists for other persons is presented. The system includes a data store and a computing device. The data store stores at least information related to items available for purchase. The computing device is in communication with and has access to the data store. Moreover, the computing device is configured to create a gift list. The gift list includes references to items that are available for purchase by a user, and that are selected by a user as potential gifts for another. Additionally, access to the gift list is controlled by the user that created the gift list. The computing device is further configured in such a way as to add a reference to an item to the gift list while the user browses the items available for purchase.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/557,447, filed Nov. 7, 2006, titled CREATING AND MAINTAINING GIFTLISTS IN ONLINE SHOPPING, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Electronic commerce is an increasingly popular way of conductingbusiness, typically, but not exclusively, including activities such asbrowsing for items; comparing product aspects such as price, color,warranties, and the like for multiple items; inspecting product detailsof an item; purchasing one or more items; and the like. More and morevendors are making their products and services available over electronicnetworks, such as the Internet and computer users have embracedelectronic commerce as a legitimate shopping environment.

Both vendors and computer users greatly benefit from electronic commercein a variety of ways. For example, users do not have to travel to anumber of vendor locales to purchase a given item. Rather, a user cannow purchase a desired item from the convenience of his or her home.Further, users can quickly compare a wide variety of similar productsand prices from a number of vendors in order to make an informed choicein their purchases rather than spending an entire afternoon incomparison shopping. Vendors are benefited in that they can reach a muchlarger group of customers than those who reside in their geographicvicinity.

There are some disadvantages associated with electronic commerce. Acomputer user cannot try on or try out a physical product found on avendor's electronic commerce site without visiting a so-called “brickand mortar” store. Short of visiting a physical store, the computer usermust make a choice based on published information. Further, a computeruser cannot request information from a knowledgeable salesperson duringhis/her shopping experience, though there are efforts being made toprovide a comparable electronic service.

One feature of shopping, in general, that has been a mainstay of manypeople is the gift list, i.e., maintaining one or more lists of itemsthat may be desirable to be purchased as gifts for another person. Manypeople maintain gift lists for their family, friends, colleagues,assistants, etc., such that when a gift-giving occasion arises, such asa birthday, Christmas, anniversary, graduation, retirement, and thelike, they already know what to give and, quite often, where to get it.

Of course, a computer user may reference his or her gift lists duringelectronic commerce activities. However, this requires cumbersomecoordination efforts between browsing experience and referencing a giftlist. This coordination may be especially frustrating when the computeruser is adding information to a gift list regarding a particular itemlocated while browsing for items, including switching back and forthbetween a browser and a printed or electronic day planner or PIM(personal information manager). Clearly, it would be beneficial if acomputer user's electronic shopping experience could be enhanced orintegrated with the ability to maintain one or more gift lists forothers.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A system for maintaining gift lists for other persons is presented. Thesystem includes a data store and a computing device. The data storestores at least information related to items available for purchase. Thecomputing device is in communication with and has access to the datastore. Moreover, the computing device is configured to create a giftlist. The gift list includes references to items that are available forpurchase by a user, and that are selected by a user as potential giftsfor another. Additionally, access to the gift list is controlled by theuser that created the gift list. The computing device is furtherconfigured in such a way as to add a reference to an item to the giftlist while the user browses the items available for purchase.

In addition to the above, the computing device is configured toassociate a gift-giving occasion with the created gift list, and provideuser notification of the gift-giving occasion.

A computer-implemented method for maintaining a gift list is presented.In at least one embodiment, the method comprises each of the followingsteps. As one step, a user is enabled to view a multiple items availablefor purchase via the user's browser. As an additional step, a gift listis created to store references to items available for purchase that areselected by the user as potential gifts for another person. Access tothe gift list is controlled the by user. As yet another step, the giftlist is stored in a data store.

A computer-readable medium is presented, the computer-readable mediumhaving a computer-executable component for maintaining a gift list. Giftlists comprise references to items available for purchase that areselected by a user as potential gifts for another person. Thecomputer-executable component comprises a user interface component. Theuser interface component enables a user to create a gift list. Asmentioned, the gift list stores references to items available forpurchase that are selected by the user as potential gifts for anotherperson. Access to the gift list is controlled the by user. The userinterface component also enables the user to add a reference to an itemavailable for purchase to the gift list.

A method for maintaining a gift list is presented. The method comprisesa step of providing display information regarding a plurality of itemsavailable for purchase. The method also includes a step of creating agift list for another person. The gift list stores references to itemsavailable for purchase that are selected by a user as potential giftsfor another person. All access to the first gift list is controlled bythe user. The method further includes the step of storing the gift listin a data store. Still further, the method includes the step of adding areference to an item available for purchase to the first gift list atthe direction of the user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram of an illustrative network environmentsuitable for conducting electronic gift list services integrated withinelectronic shopping activities;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of illustrative components of a consumerdevice suitable for conducting user-related aspects of electronic giftlist services during electronic shopping activity;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of illustrative components of a gift listserver suitable for use in the networked environment depicted in FIG. 1for carrying out aspects of electronic gift list services duringelectronic shopping activity;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of illustrative information stored in a userrecord residing in the user data store of FIG. 3 for maintaining giftlists;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of illustrative information associated with auser's gift list;

FIGS. 6A-6D are pictorial diagrams of an illustrative browser displayshowing an item offered for sale via electronic commerce, and forfurther illustrating at least one way in which the user may add the itemto a gift list;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an illustrative routine for adding an itemto a gift list;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an illustrative routine for creating the newgift list;

FIG. 9 is a pictorial diagram of an illustrative gift list manager formanaging a user's gift lists as displayed by a browser; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B are pictorial diagrams of an illustrative browsingdisplaying a portion of a purchase process for associating a purchaseditem with a gift list.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of the following discussion, a gift list is a list ofreferences to items (products or services) that are placed on the listas potential gifts for another person or entity. While a gift list mayinclude both products and services, for simplicity in presentation, thefollowing discussion will be in regard to “items” or “gift items” thatinclude both products and services. Similarly, while a gift list may becreated and maintained for an entity other than a person, such as anorganization, a team, a couple, and the like, the following discussionwill generally be made with regard to “another person” or “otherperson,” and it should be understood that this other “person” may be anentity other than a person.

A gift list, according to the present invention, is distinct from bothgift registries and wish lists, both of which are presently available invarious electronic commerce (also referred to as e-commerce)environments. In particular, a gift list is a list of references toitems that are placed thereon as gifts or gift ideas for another person.Accordingly, a gift list is personal to the computer user that createsit, meaning that a gift list is created and maintained as a personallist for a particular computer user. As a personal list, access to agift list is therefore controlled by the user, even though the object ortarget of a gift list is for another computer user. In variousalternative embodiments, if a computer user creates a gift list, thecreator/computer user can transfer information on the gift list to apublic list such as a gift registry, provide access to the gift list toanother computer user, or provide a copy of the gift list to anothercomputer user for their use.

In contrast to a gift list, electronic wish lists are lists ofreferences to items that are desired for the wish list's creator, i.e.,a list of items the list creator wishes to obtain. Quite often, wishlists may be made available to other computer users with suggestions asto what gifts the wish list creator would like to receive. Similarly,gift registries are lists created for users, couples, or entities thatare published for others. In a similar fashion to published wish lists,desirable items may be placed on a registry list by the targeteduser/couple/entity such that others can then purchase items for thetargeted user/couple/entity. Purchased items are recorded on theregistry list such that others do not duplicate the gift. In sum, wishlists and gift registries are lists of items intended for the listcreator and are frequently shared with or accessible to other users.Gift lists are personal to the list creator and intended for another.

In regard to placing items on a gift list, while some items that couldserve as gifts are entirely electronic in nature such that they couldactually be stored on the gift list (such as music and/or video files,electronic books, computer games, etc.), those skilled in the art willappreciate that, in general, the phrase “placing an item” on a gift listrefers to placing a reference to an item on the gift list. Accordingly,while the following discussion will generally use the phrase “placing anitem” on a gift list, this term should be interpreted as placing areference to the item or the item itself on the gift list.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that theinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known process steps have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the invention.

With regard to an operating environment suitable for implementingaspects of the present invention, while there are numerous environmentsin which electronic shopping or e-commerce may occur, FIG. 1 is apictorial diagram of an illustrative networked environment 100 suitablefor conducting electronic gift list services integrated withinelectronic shopping activities. The illustrative networked environment100 of FIG. 1 includes one or more consumer devices, such as consumerdevices 102-106, through which consumers (not shown) can conductelectronic shopping. The consumer devices communicate via acommunication network, such as the Internet 108, with a network shoppingservice 110 to conduct electronic shopping.

Consumer devices, such as consumer devices 102-106, are typicallycomputing devices including a variety of configurations or forms suchas, but not limited to, laptop or tablet computers, personal computers,personal digital assistants (PDAs), hybrid PDA/mobile phones, mobilephones, electronic book readers, workstations, and the like. A generalarchitecture of a consumer device is described below in regard to FIG.2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of illustrative components of a consumerdevice suitable for conducting electronic shopping and interacting withintegrated gift list services via a communication network such as theInternet 108. Of course, while various components are described below,those skilled in the art of computers will recognize a wide selection ofcommercially available components that can be used to construct aconsumer device suitable for conducting electronic shopping andinteracting with gift list services. Accordingly, the followingdescription of components of a consumer device should be viewed asillustrative only and not construed as limiting in any manner.

With regard to FIG. 2, the illustrated consumer device 200 includes aprocessor 202 in communication with a variety of other components over asystem bus 218. The illustrated components include, by way of example, anetwork interface 204, an input device interface 206, a displayinterface 208, an optional computer-readable medium drive 212, and amemory 210. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, the networkinterface 204 enables the consumer device 200 to communicate data,control signals, data requests, and other information with a computernetwork such as the Internet 108 (FIG. 1). The network interface 204 maybe configured to communicate with the Internet 108 over a wired orwireless connection (not shown).

The input device interface 206, sometimes also embodied as aninput/output interface, enables the consumer device 200 to obtain inputfrom the consumer, part of which is directed to the purchase. Inputdevices (not shown) in communication with the input device interface 206may include, but are not limited to, a digital pen, a touch screen, akeyboard, a mouse, and the like. In addition, a display interface 208 istypically connected to a display device 216 (e.g., a CRT monitor, an LCDscreen, a television, etc.) for visually displaying information to theconsumer. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the displaydevice 216 may be incorporated within a consumer device as an integralelement of the consumer device or, alternatively, may be an externalcomponent that is attached to the consumer device. FIG. 2 illustratesthat the display device 216 is external to the consumer device 200, butthis is illustrative only.

The processor 202 is configured to operate in accordance withprogramming instructions stored in a memory, such as the memory 210. Thememory 210 generally comprises RAM, ROM, and/or other permanent memory.Thus, in addition to storage in read/write memory (RAM), programminginstructions may also be embodied in read-only format, such as thosefound in ROM or other permanent memory.

The memory 210 also typically stores an operating system 220 forcontrolling the general operation of the consumer device 200. Theoperating system may be a general purpose operating system such as aMICROSOFT® operating system, a UNIX® operating system, a LINUX®operating system, or an operating system specifically written for andtailored to a particular consumer device 200. The memory 210 may furtherstore user-executable applications or programs for conducting variousfunctions on the consumer device 200. For example, FIG. 2 illustratesthat memory 210 includes a browser application 214 that may be used bythe consumer to navigate on the Internet 108 and through which theconsumer may communicate via the Internet 108 to interact withelectronic shopping and gift list services provided by the networkshopping service 110. Examples of a browser application 214 includeMicrosoft's INTERNET EXPLORER® browser application, Mozilla's FIREFOX®browser application, Opera Software ASA's OPERA® browser application,and the like.

The computer-readable medium drive 212 provides an optional andalternative means by which a consumer may store information and/orretrieve external information. Examples of computer-readable mediumdrives include, but are not limited to, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives,floppy disk drives, USB drives, flash memory card readers, and the like.Of course, while a computer-readable medium drive 212 is shown in theillustrative consumer device 200, it should be viewed as an optionalcomponent. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that not allconsumer devices include a computer-readable medium drive 212. However,regardless of whether or not a consumer device 200 includes acomputer-readable medium drive 212, the consumer device may be entirelysuitable for interacting with gift list services while conductingelectronic shopping transactions.

With reference again to FIG. 1, as mentioned above, the consumer devices102-106 are connected to a network shopping service 110 via acommunication network, such as the Internet 108. The network shoppingservice 110 provides pages offering retail services, including gift listservices, to consumers via their consumer devices for conductingshopping activities.

While illustrated in FIG. 1 as comprising multiple servers, the networkshopping service 110 may comprise one or multiple servers or discretecomponents to provide shopping and retail services over a network. Asparticularly shown in FIG. 1, the illustrated network shopping service110 is comprised of multiple components, including a retail server 112that provides the “front end” interface to consumers via their consumerdevices 102-106, a catalog server 114 that provides general informationfor items available for purchase from the network shopping service, anda gift list server 116 that provides gift list services to a consumerduring the consumer's electronic shopping activities. Of course, thoseskilled in the art will, of course, appreciate that the variousservers/components of the network shopping service 110 depicted in FIG.1 are illustrative only. As mentioned above, an actual embodiment of anetwork shopping service 110 may be comprised of a single server or aplurality of discrete, cooperative servers distributed in acommunications network 118. Similarly, the identified components of thenetwork shopping service 110 should be viewed as logical componentsonly, as each separately identified component, such as the catalogserver 114, the retail server 112, and the gift list server 116, may bephysically embodied on one or more computer systems, as well as combinedwith other hardware and/or software components not illustrated herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of illustrative components of a gift listserver 116 that are suitable for providing electronic gift list servicesduring a user's e-commerce activities. More particularly, the gift listserver 116 provides the gift list services to the network shoppingservice 110 in both offering gift list functionality as well asresponding to user requests with regard to the gift list services.However, while the gift list server 116, as illustrated in FIG. 3, isdemonstrated as a single integrated computing device, this isillustrative only. In an actual embodiment, the gift list server 116 maybe embodied in a plurality of servers or integrated with one or moreother servers within the network shopping service 110.

The illustrative gift list server 116 includes a processor 302 incommunication with a variety of other components over a system bus 314.As will be described below in greater detail, the processor 302 executesone or more code modules that carry out the gift list services, such asthe gift list component 308. The illustrative gift list server 116 alsoincludes, but is not limited to, a network interface 304, a memory 306,and a user data store 310.

As with the consumer device 200, the processor 302 is configured tooperate in accordance with programming instructions stored in the memory306, which is generally comprised of RAM, ROM, and/or other permanentmemory. The memory 306 will typically store an operating system (notshown) for the gift list server 116 upon which, and with which, mostother programs/applications operate, including the gift list component308. Additionally, while the gift list component 308 is illustrated asexisting outside of the memory 306, this is for illustration purposesonly. Under most circumstances, the gift list component 308 will residewithin the memory 306.

The network interface is used by the gift list server 116 to communicatewith other components of the network shopping service 110 and/or aconsumer device in providing the gift list server's functionality. Theuser data store 310 is a data store that includes user records 312corresponding to those users that take advantage of the gift listabilities of the gift list server 116. Sample information stored in theuser records 312 is discussed in greater detail in regard to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of illustrative information stored in a userrecord 402 residing in the user data store 310 (FIG. 3) for maintaininga user's gift lists and related information. More particularly, anillustrative user record 402 includes a gift list store 406 that holdsany number of gift lists that have been created by the user. Forexample, the sample gift list store 406 illustrates three gift lists,lists 410-414, though this is illustrative only. Also indicated, whileeach gift list may include items placed there by the corresponding user,such as represented by items 420 and 422, a gift list may also includesystem-supplied recommendations, such as recommendations 424 and 426.

The illustrative user record 402 also is shown as including the user'spurchase history 404. The user's purchase history can play an importantfunction with regard to gift lists as it stores what the user haspurchased, and further allows the user to associate a purchased itemwith a gift list. Of course, in an alternative embodiment, a user'spurchase history 404 may be stored in another location within thenetwork shopping service 110, rather than in the user records in theuser data store 310.

According to other aspects, gift lists are distinguished by a gift listname. The gift list server 116 may automatically provide a name if theuser fails to do so or, alternatively, require that the user input aunique name for a newly created gift list. As shown in FIG. 4, theillustrative user record 400 includes a default gift list 410representing a server-provided name 408, as well as two user-named giftlists, 412 and 414, that were explicitly named by the user.

In addition to a gift list name, and in order to enhance the servicesthat can be offered to a user with regard to a gift list, a user canoptionally provide additional information for each gift list. To thatend, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of illustrative information associatedwith each gift list, such as gift list 412. As already suggested, eachgift list 412 includes a gift list name 502 that identifies theparticular gift list from all other gift lists created/owned by theuser. Further, the gift list name 502 is the only field of the gift listinformation 500 that is viewed as being required, though the gift listserver 116 may supply a default gift list name if a user does not.

Since a gift list 412 is frequently associated with a particular,targeted person, the gift list information 500 may optionally includeinformation typically associated with a person generally, such as abirthday 504; gender information 506; relationship information 508identifying the relationship between the user and the targeted person;reminder information 510 specifying when a reminder should be providedto the user regarding the targeted person; personality information 512identifying various predefined personality traits; and user notes 514for storing user-provided information regarding the target person of thegift list 412. Entering this user-provided information is described ingreater detail below in regard to FIGS. 8 and 9.

The gift list information 500 also includes an events/occasions store516 for storing events and/or occasions for which the user wishes to bereminded regarding the targeted person. One event, the birthday 504 ofthe targeted person, may be included in the events/occasions store 516,though if birthday information is kept specifically and separately, asillustrated in FIG. 5, it may not be necessary to store that informationin the events/occasions store. The gift list information 500 alsoincludes a gift items store 518 for storing those items placed on thegift list 412 by the user.

It should be appreciated that the gift list information 500 identifiedabove represents sample information that may be provided with regard toa particular gift list 412. In an actual embodiment, any subset of theinformation described above, with perhaps the exception of the gift listname 502, as well as additional user-provided information, may beprovided with regard to a particular gift list 412. Accordingly, theinformation described in regard to FIG. 5 as being part of gift listinformation 500 should be viewed as illustrative and not construed aslimiting upon the present invention.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, based onthe gift list information 500 provided for each gift list, the networkshopping service 110 or a part thereof may provide gift recommendationswhen a user views a particular gift list. More particularly, as part ofpresenting information to a user in regard to one or more gift liststhat the user has created, and in addition to listing those items thathave been placed on the gift list by the user, the network shoppingservice 110 may also evaluate the gift list information 500 to identifyadditional items that the user might want to purchase for the targetedperson. These recommended items mayor may not be stored with the giftlist, though if a user likes one of the recommendations, an actionablecontrol is typically provided to store the recommended item on the giftlist as a gift list item.

Turning now to FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7, these figures are useful forillustrating how a gift list service 116 may be suitably integratedwithin a networked shopping service 110. More particularly, FIGS. 6A and6B are pictorial diagrams illustrating browser displays 602 showing anitem 606 offered for sale by a typical vendor via e-commerce activities.Moreover, FIGS. 6A and 6B further illustrate at least one path for how auser might add the browsed item to a gift list. Similarly, FIG. 7 is aflow diagram illustrating a routine 700 for adding an item to a giftlist.

As shown in FIG. 7, the process begins at block 702 with a user browsingone of the various pages of a vendor's e-commerce services, such as page604 displayed in browser 602 in FIG. 6A. According to this example, asthe user realizes that the displayed item 606 might be an excellent giftfor someone else, the user positions a pointer 608 over a control 610and activates the control to add the item to a gift list.Correspondingly, at block 704, a user direction to add the currentlyviewed item 606 to a gift list is received.

With reference now to FIGS. 6B and 7, at block 706 the network shoppingservice 110 displays the user's currently defined gift lists, as well asan option to create an additional gift list. As shown in theillustrative diagram of FIG. 6B, in response to activating control 610,a pop-up window 612 is displayed for adding the currently viewed item606 to a gift list.

At block 708, the network shopping service 110 obtains the user's inputas to the gift selection. Correspondingly, using the pointer 608, theuser can select from one of the already-created gift lists, such as thegift list corresponding to entry 614, or to create a new gift list byselecting entry 616.

Assuming that the user selects from one of the already created giftlists, at block 712, the currently viewed item 606 is added to theselected gift list. As shown in FIG. 6B, assuming that the user selectsentry 614 corresponding to Andrew's Gift List, the currently viewed item606 is added to that gift list.

While a button and pop-up window are displayed as part of the useractionable controls for adding an item to a gift list, these should beviewed as illustrative only and should not interpreted as limiting uponthe present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that anynumber of controls may be utilized to present the user with a selectionof gift lists including, but not limited to, drop-down menus, tabs, andany number of custom controls specifically for this purpose.

In one embodiment, once an item is added to an existing gift list, thatgift list is displayed to the user. FIG. 6C illustrates an illustrativegift list displayed to a user via the user's browser. As can be seen,item 606 has been added to this existing gift list. Also optionallydisplayed are system-supplied recommendations, such as recommendations626 and 628, based on user-provided information regarding the targetedperson. In this illustrative display, the user can add the gift item 606to an electronic cart via control 622, which will take the item off thegift list and place it in the user's purchase history, remove the giftitem from the gift list via control 624, or simply return to shoppingvia control 630.

Returning again to FIG. 7, if the user instead chooses to add thecurrently viewed item 606 to a new gift list, the routine 700 proceedsto block 710 where the new gift list is first created. Creating giftlists is described below in regard to FIGS. 6D and 8.

While adding a current browsed item to a gift list is one way in which auser may add to a gift list, it should be appreciated that items may beadded to a gift list other than through browsing a particular item. Forexample, as mentioned above, when viewing a gift list andrecommendations are presented, a user may direct that a recommendationis added to the gift list. Alternatively, when editing or maintaining agift list, a user may enter an item directly that does not necessarilycorrespond to any item being displayed or browsed by the user, thoughthe user and/or the gift list services may associate this manuallyentered item with a particular vendor item if it is found.

FIG. 6D is a pictorial diagram of an illustrative page for creating anew gift list and FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an illustrative routinefor creating the new gift list. More particularly, assuming that theuser wants to create a new gift list, FIG. 6D is a pictorial diagram ofan illustrative browser page 632 for creating a new gift list. Beginningat block 802, the user enters a gift list name 634. At block 804,additional information is optionally obtained regarding the targetedperson. As discussed above, this information may include a birthday 636,the targeted person's gender 638, the relationship 640 between the userand the targeted person, a reminder 642 indicting how soon before aparticular event or occasion the system should notify the user regardingobtaining a gift; personality traits 646 of the targeted person, andother notes 648 that the user wishes to maintain regarding this targetedperson.

Once the profile information is entered, at block 806 the new gift listis added to the user's user record. As shown in FIG. 6D, the user willactivate the control 650 to add the newly defined gift list to theuser's user record. Thereafter, the routine 800 terminates.

Returning again to FIG. 7, once the gift list has been created, at block712, the currently viewed item 606 is added to the newly created giftlist. Thereafter, the routine 700 terminates.

In one embodiment, once the new gift list is created and the item 606 isadded, the new gift list is displayed, such as that illustrated inregard to FIG. 6C.

According to aspects of the present invention, a user can manage his orher gift lists via a gift list manager. FIG. 9 is a pictorial diagram ofan illustrative gift list manager 900 for managing a user's gift listsas displayed by a browser 920.

The illustrative gift list manager 900 includes an area 902 forassociating purchased items with a gift list (or not purchased as agift) and includes a link 903 to associate purchased items to giftlists. The illustrative gift list manager 900 also includes a giftoccasion area 904 for adding gifting events/occasions to one or moregift lists. This gift occasion area 904 includes a link 905 that takesthe user to a set of pages for creating gifting occasions for giftlists. Further, the gift occasion area 904 also includes a list ofgifting occasions that are to occur within the next month, as indicatedby arrow 906.

The illustrative gift list manager 900 also includes a control 908 forcreating new gift lists as previously described (though without adding aparticular item to the gift list). Additionally, each gift list createdby the user is displayed, as indicated by gift lists 910-914, andcontrols are provided to edit profile information for that gift list,remove the gift list, locate a wish list published by the targeted userso that items can be imported from the wish list into the gift list,view gifts/items on the list, view events associated with the gift list,and view a purchase history of items related to this gift list.

Of course, the operations illustrated on this sample gift list managershould be viewed as illustrative operations, and should not be viewed aslimiting upon the present invention. Additional and/or fewer operationsmay be provided without departing from the scope of the presentinvention.

While the gift list manager permits a user to associate previouslypurchased items with one of the user's defined gift lists, in at leastone embodiment, the gift list services are integrated such that, uponpurchase of an item, a user may associate an item with a gift list. Inother words, as part of the purchase transaction (irrespective ofwhether it is at the start or end of the purchase process) the user isprompted to associate a purchased item with a gift list. FIGS. 10A and10B are pictorial diagrams of illustrative browser views showing how auser may be prompted to associate an item with a gift list. Inparticular, FIG. 10A illustrates a browser view 1000 showing aconfirmation page 1002 as a result of purchasing an item. As part ofthis process, the integrated gift list service prompts 1004 the user ifthe purchased item was a gift. Additionally, the user is provided withcontrols to either associate the item with a gift list, via control1006, or finish the purchase transaction 1008. In this example, the usermay position the cursor 1010 over control 1006 to associate the itemwith a gift list.

FIG. 10B illustrates one way in which the control may react to the usersactivation: i.e., displaying a pop-up list 1012 of the user's gift listsand enabling the user to select one of the identified gift lists, suchas the gift list represented by entry 1014, via the cursor 1010. Ofcourse, this illustrates just one of many user-actionable controlsand/or interfaces that may be used to associate a particular item with agift list during the purchase process. Thus, the controls of FIGS. 10Aand 10B should be viewed as illustrative only, and not construed aslimiting upon the present invention.

With regard to assigning purchased items to a gift list, in at least oneembodiment, if the item purchased was already associated with a giftlist, and assignment process as described above in regard to FIGS. 10Aand 10B would not be necessary.

While the above description has been made with regard to a gift listservice integrated within a single network shopping service 110, it wasillustrative only and should not be construed as limiting upon thepresent invention. In alternative embodiments, gift list services may beintegrated within a plurality of network shopping services. For example,in a first embodiment, the plurality of network shopping services arecooperating with each other in regard to providing the user with giftlist services, including the interfaces to create gift lists that areaccessible from any of the cooperative network shopping services; addingitems to a single gift list from any of the cooperative network shoppingservices; storing and maintaining the user's gift lists, and the like.In another embodiment, a plurality of network shopping servicescooperate with a software component integrated with or installed in theuser's browser that presents a user interface control, such as a toolbar or component-installed menu, through which the user can create,maintain, and add to the user's gift lists. In this embodiment, the usermay designate a single network shopping service 110 as the host servicewhere the gift lists are maintained, or maintain them locally on theuser's computing device. Each cooperative network shopping service needonly recognize and interact with the gift list software componentinstalled in the user's browser, rather than cooperatively interactingwith other network shopping services.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, itwill be appreciated that various changes can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for maintaining gift lists, the systemcomprising: an electronic data store configured to store gift lists; andone or more computing devices in communication with the electronic datastore, the one or more computing devices configured to: detect that auser has selected an item offered for purchase via an electronicmarketplace, while the user is browsing the electronic marketplace via abrowser application; in response to detecting the selection of the item,providing display information including a list of persons for whom giftlists are stored in the electronic data store; prompt the user toselect, via the browser application, that the item offered for purchasevia the electronic marketplace is a potential gift for a personreferenced in the list of persons for whom gift lists are stored in theelectronic data store; detect that the user has indicated that thepotential gift is for the selected person; and add a reference to theselected item offered for purchase to a gift list associated with theselected person of the gift lists stored in the electronic data store,in response to detecting that the user has indicated that the potentialgift is for the selected person.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theone or more computing devices are further configured to enable the userto create an additional gift list in response to detecting that the userhas selected the item offered for purchase by the network shoppingservice while browsing.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the gift listassociated with said person comprises information identifying arelationship between the user and said person.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to:associate a gift-giving occasion with the gift list associated with saidperson; and provide a notification to the user of the gift-givingoccasion.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computingdevices are further configured to create the gift list associated withsaid person and store the gift list associated with said person in theelectronic data store.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or morecomputing devices are further configured to obtain, via the browserapplication, information related to said person and store theinformation related to said person in the gift list associated with saidperson stored in the electronic data store.
 7. A computer-implementedmethod for maintaining a gift list, the method comprising: under controlof one or more computer devices configured with specificcomputer-executable instructions, determining that a user has selected,via a browser, an item available for purchase from a network shoppingservice as a potential gift, while the user is browsing the networkshopping service; in response to determining that the user has selectedthe item available for purchase while browsing, prompting the user forinformation identifying that the item available for purchase is thepotential gift for a person selected from a group of two or morepersons, said prompting comprising causing display, via the browser, ofinformation associated with gift lists of each person of the group oftwo or more persons in combination with information regarding the itemavailable for purchase; and in response to receiving the informationidentifying that the item available for purchase is for said person,adding a reference to the item available for purchase to a gift list forsaid person stored in an electronic data store, the gift list for saidperson storing information identifying said person and the reference tothe item available for purchase selected by the user as the potentialgift for said person.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7,further comprising causing display of the information associated withthe group of two or more persons, in response to determining that theuser has selected the item available for purchase while browsing.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising preventingsaid person from accessing the gift list for said person.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising providingdisplay information associated with a plurality of references to itemsstored in the gift list for said person.
 11. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 7, further comprising associating a gift-giving occasionwith the gift list for said person and storing information associatedwith the gift-giving occasion with the gift list in the electronic datastore.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, furthercomprising adding an additional reference to a different item availablefor purchase from a different network shopping service to the gift listfor said person.
 13. A system comprising: an electronic data storeconfigured to store gift lists; and one or more computing devices incommunication with the electronic data store, the one or more computingdevices configured to: enable a user to select, via a browser, an itemoffered for purchase via an electronic marketplace, while the user isbrowsing the electronic marketplace; in response to the user selectingthe item offered for purchase while browsing, provide displayinformation associated with a group of persons for whom gift lists arestored in the electronic data store and prompt the user, via thebrowser, for information identifying a person from the group of personsfor whom the item offered for purchase is a potential gift; receive, viathe browser, information identifying said person for whom the itemoffered for purchase is the potential gift; and add a reference to theselected item offered for purchase to a gift list for said person inresponse to receiving the information identifying said person from theuser, said gift list stored in the electronic data store and includinginformation identifying said person.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinthe one or more computing devices are further configured to enable theuser to request display of information associated with references toitems added to the gift list for said person stored in the electronicdata store.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or morecomputing devices are further configured to enable the user to requestdisplay of recommended items with the display of information associatedwith references to items added to the gift list for said person storedin the electronic data store.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein theone or more computing devices are further configured to enable the userto select an item to purchase from the display of information associatedwith references to items added to the gift list for said person storedin the electronic data store.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein theone or more computing devices are further configured to obtain profileinformation related to said person and store the obtained profileinformation in association with the gift list for said person in theelectronic data store.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the one ormore computing devices are further configured to enable the user tocreate the gift list for said person, via the browser, by providing agift list name and information about said person indicative of one ormore of the following: a relationship between the user and said person,at least one personality trait of said person, or an event associatedwith said person.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or morecomputing devices are further configured to cause display of an imageassociated with the item offered for purchase while prompting the userfor information identifying the person from the group of persons forwhom the item offered for purchase is the potential gift.